by Nicole Auerbach and Eric Prisbell, USA TODAY Sports

by Nicole Auerbach and Eric Prisbell, USA TODAY Sports

Welcome back to the weekly college hoops mailbag. It's been a great week of holiday tournament games, and there's really nothing better than basketball being on TV at all hours of the day, right?

Our college basketball reporters Nicole Auerbach and Eric Prisbell are here to answer your questions each week. Here's a reminder to send in questions for next week's mailbag to nauerbach@usatoday.com.

@jameezy9: Does everyone still think NC State is the best team in the ACC?

Prisbell: I still do. My partner in crime does not. Listen, it's going to be a great three-way race atop the ACC standings, and do not count out Maryland either. So NC State lost to a talented Oklahoma State team poised to challenge for the top three spots in the Big 12? No shame in that loss. I'm here in Dallas, and certainly no one in Big 12 country is sleeping on the Cowboys this season. The Wolfpack will be fine. There is too much returning talent, too much incoming talent and too sound of a coaching staff for this team to not at least be a strong ACC contender. The preseason hype was credible.

Auerbach: I do agree with Eric that it's going to be a great three-way race atop the ACC, and that Maryland might have enough talent to challenge those teams as well. I just think after seeing Duke beat Kentucky (yes, the November version, but still) the Blue Devils are the team to beat in the ACC. NC State needs to prove it can play with the big boys on the big stage, and it hasn't done that yet. I'm not saying I don't think the Wolfpack has talent -- I just want to see a great win before I put them ahead of a team like Duke.

LaMont Peterson: Which teams surprised/disappointed you?

Prisbell: It is a long season and we're very early and I try not to overreact to one loss or one victory (like Xavier over Butler). But I have been a little disappointed with Florida State (losing to South Alabama) and Miami (losing to Florida Gulf Coast). I had â?? and still have â?? both as NCAA tourney teams. I have been a little disappointed thus far with my neighbor school, North Texas, but Mitchell will carry them to the Sun Belt title anyway. Here's teams that will be better than advertised: Maryland, Colorado (nice win vs. Baylor), and New Mexico. If you're buying stock in those three schools, you'll be happy with your returns come March. They are undervalued, but not for long. (Oh, and I think I overvalued UCLA, but whatever, a boom or bust season and we'll see how that plays out.)

Auerbach: We're only a little over a week into the season so it's a bit early for disappointments but I'm definitely surprised by both Butler and UNC based on Tuesday night's game. I think Butler is extremely talented and well-coached, but I'm shocked the Bulldogs were able to put on a clinic against a team like UNC. I think the Tar Heels will rebound just fine, but it's still shocking to see them getting blown out for most of the game by ANYONE. Like Eric, I'm also pleasantly surprised by Colorado. It's good to see the Pac-12 making some noise after a disappointing 2011-12 season. Colorado's win over Baylor was better than any win any Pac-12 team had all of last season.

Peterson: Which players have surprised/disappointed you?

Prisbell: The guy who surprised me was Jack Taylor. I thought he would get at least 140 Tuesday night. He came up two shy, but life goes on. On a serious note, I have not been as much surprised as I am pleased that Le'Bryan Nash and Marcus Smart are playing so well for Oklahoma State. Mason Plumlee has been tearing it up for Duke. Alex Len has been better than I expected for Maryland. There are lots. On the other side, there have been some uneven performances among the best of the best players from smaller conferences, as Nicole and I have talked about. But many of those guys in particular will be rewarded come June, if not March.

Auerbach: I expected to see a bit more out of Nerlens Noel by now, but Alex Poythress and Archie Goodwin seem to be stealing more of the headlines down in Lexington. It's hard to be the guy after Anthony Davis, but still. On the surprising side, I'd say Jordan Hulls, who had an incredible game Tuesday night against Georgetown. I know most people are surprised Otto Porter was as dominant as he was against both UCLA and Indiana, but Eric and I have been high on him since last season so that's really not surprising. The only surprise with him will be where he is drafted in the first round.

Peterson: Who do you think will be in the final 4?

Prisbell: I'll stick with my picks of Indiana, Louisville, NC State and UNLV. The two teams I also think could make a serious run are Arizona and Florida. The bottom line is that this season should be wildly entertaining. Many folks didn't think Georgetown could give Indiana a good run and the Hoyas nearly knocked them off. That's only the beginning. Expect the unexpected more often than not this season because there is no dominant team. And if Butler wins the Maui Classic, as I predicted, that may be a sign of things to come in terms of formidable dark horse teams making noise.

Auerbach: I'm also going to stick with my preseason picks for now. I had Indiana, Louisville, Michigan State and Kansas. I'm a little worried about the injury to freshman Gary Harris, who was poised to have a big season. Tom Izzo doesn't seem optimistic about it, and best-case scenario looks like Harris will miss at least a few weeks. If he comes back and Keith Appling continues to play well -- like he did down the stretch against Kansas -- the Spartans should play deep into March. The unpredictable nature of this season so far, though, means that there's a good chance we'll get a surprise team in the Final Four. So maybe I'll be able to go three-for-four. :)

@SirColbyBrown: Where does Brad Stevens go after Butler?

Prisbell: Stevens should have the opportunity to go almost anywhere he wants. Only he knows what is best for him personally, and it should not shock anyone if he and his family remain in Indianapolis for a considerable amount of time. That said, I will stick to what I have been saying since Stevens made back-to-back appearances in the national title game: Duke is the job I would watch. Mike Krzyzewski has great respect for Stevens, who is widely considered the future of college coaching. Filling Krzyzewski's shoes is an impossible task. But replacing him with Stevens, whenever that time comes for Krzyzewski to retire, would give Duke one of the very best coaches in the country and someone who epitomizes what coaching should ideally be about during these very complicated times in college athletics.

Auerbach: I'm sure the day will come someday, but Brad Stevens is only going to leave Butler for one of the best jobs in college basketball at this point -- since he hasn't jumped at the high-major jobs that have been available in recent years. Duke, like Eric said, would be worth it.

@SirColbyBrown: How long does Tom Crean stay at Indiana?

Prisbell: In the college ranks, I don't know where else he would want to go. Maybe Nicole feels otherwise, but I just don't know what's a step up when you are already at the top. It is a job you try to hold onto as long as you can, unless you are Kelvin Sampson and can't put down the phone. And the thing about Crean, at least in my view, is that he is not building a national contender the way many think you HAVE to do it these days â?? with a slew of one-and-dones (see Kentucky). There is a belief that this program has staying power. And I second that notion. They were simply one year ahead on the learning curve last season and now are in position to win it all. They aren't going away, and neither should their coach, for a long, long time.

Auerbach: I don't know where he'd go, either. When Indiana basketball is good, that's easily one of the best jobs in college sports. Tuesday night in a supposedly "neutral site" game, Brooklyn's Barclays Center was filled with crimson and sounded a lot like a miniature Assembly Hall. Crean has a wild, devoted and enthusiastic fan base who loves basketball more than anything, and that's all you can really ask for as a coach. He's been able to recruit well, and he coaches the premier program in a state where a lot of elite players play. With the success Indiana has enjoyed last season and so far this season, it'll only get easier for Crean to attract top talent. If you can be a national championship contender at a school like Indiana, why would you leave? You'd be immortalized if you win a few titles.

@SirColbyBrown: What are the top five jobs in college basketball?

Prisbell: My list is pretty set in stone, in no particular order: North Carolina, UCLA, Indiana, Kentucky, Kansas. That's the Mount Rushmore (plus one) of college basketball jobs. The one job always debated is Duke, which in my view is not inherently a top-five job. The coach made it so. Same with Syracuse. UConn? Not even close. All credit to that curmudgeon (and great coach) Jim Calhoun, who built a power from zilch. Texas, which has the best crop of high school players of any state, Florida, Louisville, Ohio State are among others with great pedigrees and/or resources. I'm interested in how Nicole feels about the Michigan job, which is a good one but the school still bleeds football first ... And I want to wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving. As someone who will have round-the-clock basketball games on, enjoy all the hoops.

Auerbach: I think one of the main requirements for the "best" jobs in college basketball is that it's at a basketball-first school, so unfortunately that rules out some schools that have had strong basketball programs at mostly football-centric schools -- like Michigan. I believe Michigan is getting close to the level of other elite programs -- I'd add Michigan State to the list of schools Eric mentioned above -- but the Wolverines, Buckeyes, Gators and even the Spartans play at football-first schools. They all have great coaches and resources, but at the end of the day, it's still tough to outshine one of your school's other teams. That's why I think the best hoops jobs are probably UNC, UCLA, Indiana and Kentucky. It's a toss-up between Duke, Kansas and Louisville for that fifth spot in my opinion. But at all of those schools, hoops is The Thing.